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Defendants Claim Drawn Gun Was Fake

NEWPORT CITY – In Orleans District Court Tuesday, Amanda Parker, 22, of Albany, entered a plea of not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment; and Todd Medeiros, 49, of Barton, entered a not guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct - fight.Judge Robert Bent released both defendants on conditions.On Aug. 20, 2011, Newport City Patrol Officer Richard Wells responded to a report that Parker was waving a gun on Short Street. Upon arrival, Wells spoke to a Robert Smith who said Medeiros and Parker went to Short Street to speak with him. Smith said Medeiros got aggressive and jumped in front of him as he tried to walk away. Smith said Medeiros pushed him and slapped him in the back of the head. That's when Smith and Medeiros started to fight. Smith said he saw Parker standing by a car with something in her hand. Parker said something to Smith and when he looked up at her, she allegedly pointed a gun at him. Smith said Parker cocked the gun and pointed it at Smith’s head. Parker and Smith left when they heard the police were on their way.Later in the evening, Medeiros and Parker called Officer Wells and offered to come to the police department to talk. The couple arrived two hours later. Officer Wells said that Parker’s statement matched the one given by Smith. Parker said Smith and Medeiros were fighting in the street and that the gun was a toy that was in the car. Parker agreed that she cocked the gun to make it seem real. Wells said Parker gave him the firearm, a small handgun with a red tip. Parker started to cry and looked down at her feet when Wells asked if that was the real gun she showed at the fight. Wells asked Parker again and she said yes and that she did not want to see her boyfriend get hurt. She said she wanted to scare Smith. Parker denied pointing the gun at anyone. Parker showed Wells how she carried and showed the gun. She said that she never pulled a real gun on anyone because, if she had, she would have shot someone. When Wells asked Parker for a statement, she declined to give one.Medeiros admitted he got into a physical altercation with Smith and that he saw Parker with a child's toy handgun in her hand.According to court records, on Aug. 3, a Douglas Warner told Wells that Medeiros went to his home looking for Smith and Medeiros had a Smith and Wesson .40 Caliber handgun. Warner said he told Medeiros where Smith was and then he left.Court papers do not state the connection Warner has with the persons involved.